Chapter 584: Supplementary Class (2)

“Therefore, when manipulating mana for elemental transformation, you must understand the characteristics of that specific attribute and…”

[Wooo.]

“It’s crucial to cultivate the habit of correctly visualizing the attribute’s characteristics.”

[Wooooo~]

“Generally, the impressionistic association method, where you recall a specific object or memory, is widely recommended, and…”

[WOOOOO…!!]

“…”

Each time his words paused, an incessant wail echoed, causing Lennok to quietly set down the chalk he was holding.

From behind Lennok, faint laughter occasionally wafted.

“Professor, your spirit. Wasn’t it originally not like that?”

“You don’t even remember Davi’s face? Look closely. It’s right on top of his head.”

[Wooooo~]

“It seems he successfully cohabitated two spirits in the meantime.”

“It took my cats over half a year to cohabitate… As expected of the Professor…!”

“I don’t think that’s the impressive part.”

Ignoring the feelings of the undergraduates or Lennok, the Dean’s spirit clung to Lennok’s head, wailing enthusiastically.

Not to be outdone by the furball, Davi also sprang from his arms and vigorously wrestled for the spot on Lennok’s crown.

Two spirits wriggled incessantly on top of Lennok’s head, regardless of whether he was lecturing.

With such a sight, how could the undergraduates possibly concentrate on the lecture?

Lennok finally put down the chalk and shook his head at the undergraduates, who were struggling to suppress their laughter while watching him.

“We’ll take a short break and then resume. See you in 10 minutes.”

Without waiting for a reply, Lennok exited the lecture hall, with Cassia following him immediately.

She, too, had been laughing at Lennok for quite some time, and with a faint smile still on her face, she patted Lennok’s shoulder.

“Evan, don’t worry too much. I think the undergraduates would be happy even if you just stood there without lecturing.”

“As someone filling in for Director Bailla, how could I do that?”

Lennok said, dusting off his collar.

With that gesture, the two spirits clinging to his head bounced along.

Seeing Cassia’s expression, which seemed to be stifling laughter, Lennok also gave a wry smile.

“Still, I have to do the job properly.”

The reason Lennok was standing before the podium, having not lectured directly since Aris went on sabbatical, was simple.

Director Bailla of the Bailla Research Institute, who had been temporarily serving as a provisional professor in the Faculty of Elemental Magic, had to return to the Carlyle Research Institute temporarily due to urgent circumstances.

Thanks to this, Lennok, who was officially serving as an assistant professor, had to take over Bailla’s lectures and teach in her stead.

The lecture Lennok was giving today was a supplementary class for second-year students in their final semester, held even after the final exams.

The content, covering foundational parts of practical application and real-world implementation of elemental magic, which would be taught starting in the third year, wasn’t particularly burdensome.

However, the Dean’s spirit, which had latched onto Lennok’s pants right before the lecture, had slightly derailed his schedule.

“Hey, what in the world is wrong with you?”

[Wooo!]

As Cassia gently peeled the Dean’s spirit, which was plastered flat on Lennok’s head, with both hands and lifted it, the furball began to wail and wriggle frantically.

Its movements clearly showed its desire to somehow get back and cling tightly to Lennok.

In the meantime, Davi quickly seized the spot on Lennok’s head and mockingly laughed at the Dean’s spirit with a strange cackle.

[Buhehehe, hehehe!!]

[Wooooo~!]

“…”

Lennok finally sighed, took the Dean’s spirit, placed it on his shoulder, and then turned back towards the lecture hall.

“It’s not interfering with the lecture itself. For now, let’s just finish the class quickly and then figure out a solution.”

“Should I contact the Dean for you?”

Cassia asked, taking out her phone and twirling it in one hand.

“I just checked outside, and he wasn’t in the Faculty of Elemental Magic building. It might be inconvenient, but since it’s his spirit, it would be best to contact him…”

“That would be good. Please do.”

Lennok said, then, adorned with spirits, re-entered the lecture hall.

After providing ample entertainment to the undergraduates with the spirits’ antics and answering a few questions about elemental magic and Anti-gravity Technology, Lennok successfully concluded the class.

Some students gathered their belongings and left the building for their next class, while an equally considerable number remained in the lecture hall, curiously observing Lennok and the spirits.

Priscilla, who had been helping Lennok tidy up the experimental equipment used in the lecture, smiled and spoke.

“Everyone was really happy to see you, Assistant Professor. It’s been too long.”

“Weren’t they looking for Davi, not me?”

“Oh, did you already figure it out?”

Priscilla grinned, packed up the experimental equipment, and briskly left the lecture hall.

Replacing her, Cassia approached Lennok, shaking her head.

“He’s not answering.”

“The Dean?”

“It rings, but he’s not picking up at all. I usually know he turns his phone off when he has an appointment.”

“…”

Lennok quietly fell into thought, watching her dark navy hair sway.

‘There’s no reason for the Dean’s spirit to be clinging to me at this hour…’

Unlike Davi, the Dean’s spirit cannot convey its intentions in human language.

Only the spellcaster who has directly contracted with a spirit can truly communicate with it.

In that sense, it would be difficult to say that the Dean sent his spirit to Lennok to deliver a message.

‘What was the last conversation I had with the Dean?’

He remembered encountering the Dean at school, but couldn’t recall what was said.

Fortunately, a high-level wizard’s intuition and intellect allowed him to retrieve even a fleeting image from the depths of his unconscious.

Concentrating and recalling the memory as if replaying a video, Lennok soon remembered the conversation they had.

“…It was about the integrated master’s and doctoral program.”

After finishing the sealed zone incident, he had briefly visited the school to research Kaiser’s Pocket Watch.

At that time, the Dean had visited his laboratory, seen Lennok’s exhausted state, and told him to rest well, offering to postpone the integrated program schedule.

But the deadline for submitting the integrated master’s and doctoral program thesis was not fixed; it depended on Lennok’s application.

He had thoroughly reviewed the university regulations when submitting his second thesis, so if the regulations hadn’t changed, it must be true.

“Was the Dean simply mistaken and gave me incorrect information? I should visit him soon to discuss this…”

Lennok muttered unconsciously, then understood his own words and fell silent.

Lennok’s eyes, which had been vacantly staring at the classroom ceiling, turned cold.

Cassia, startled by his sudden change in expression, asked, “Evan…?”

“…That’s right. He wasn’t mistaken. Did he intentionally mislead me?”

He hadn’t mistaken the integrated master’s and doctoral thesis schedule. On the contrary, the Dean himself was the one who set that schedule.

The Dean had intentionally given Lennok false information, waiting for Lennok to seek him out to inquire about it.

Through an error that only Lennok and the Dean himself would understand, he intended to naturally arrange a private meeting.

Considering that fact, and the Dean’s spirit anxiously clinging to Lennok now, only one conclusion could be reached.

The Dean’s spirit wasn’t wailing thoughtlessly at Lennok.

Rather, it was sending a message of distress to the Dean, who was currently absent and unreachable—

Click!

“A-Assistant Professor…”

Priscilla’s voice next to him was trembling.

“This… this is a joke… right?”

Priscilla, who had left the lecture hall to put away the experimental equipment for Lennok, slowly backed into the classroom, still clutching a box full of items.

Following Priscilla, a long, metallic object slowly entered through the classroom door.

The heavy barrel of a shotgun nudged Priscilla’s forehead as it moved deeper into the classroom.

[Listen quietly to what the adults are saying, student.]

Appearing with the shotgun was a bronze-skinned giant wearing a leopard mask.

The leather was tattered, as if torn from the neck of a living leopard to make the mask, and the leopard’s eyes were bloodshot and rotting.

The giant, wearing a beast mask buzzing with flies, held a shotgun splattered with unknown blood.

His appearance was so savage and chaotic that it was hard to believe he was in a classroom.

Terrified students screamed.

“M-Madman… Who are you?!”

“Kyaaaah!”

“Assistant Professor!”

[Quiet.]

Bang!

The shotgun, aimed at Priscilla’s forehead, swiveled and fired.

It shot a male student standing nearby in the leg, splattering blood.

[Shut up. Don’t scream.]

“…!!”

The male student clutched his blood-soaked thigh, gritting his teeth.

At the sound of the gunshot, the classroom instantly fell silent.

The giant shook the shotgun he was holding, looking at the students.

[We’ve subdued all the faculty administrative staff, and we’ve secured the internal magic computing facility.]

“…”

[We’ve also cut off cell phone signals, so you have no means of calling for outside help now.]

The giant chuckled softly, seeing the classroom fall into a deathly silence.

[It would be best to quietly follow the instructions of the Ghost God Temple. Understood?]

“Ghost God Temple…?”

Bang!

He eerily located the student who had echoed the words and fired the shotgun again.

Despite wearing a strange beast mask, his senses were incredibly sharp. Such power would be impossible if not for a superhuman.

Lennok unconsciously furrowed his brow deeply at the sight.

‘The situation isn’t good. Of all times…’

The logic of the Ghost God Temple.

Although the term differed slightly from what Evelyn had told him, Lennok immediately understood who they were.

The sorcerer group, the Ghost God Palace, which had bombed District 34, causing over two thousand casualties.

The uncaptured executives of the Ghost God Palace had, just as Evelyn said, indeed infiltrated Rebatenon University.

No, they hadn’t just infiltrated.

Considering the Dean’s actions, they must have hidden inside the university long ago, awaiting the opportunity to fully seize control of the facilities.

A standoff, holding the entire massive Rebatenon Magic University facility hostage.

This sorcerer group had planned this from the start, attacking District 34 to secure a route to the Magic University.

[Everyone, hand over your cell phones. Not a single one missing.]

“Ugh…!”

“Please…”

The undergraduates, with trembling hands, placed their cell phones and all other belongings before the giant.

Even though he had likely already deployed a signal jammer, he still collected their phones. Did it mean something?

The giant individually checked the students, then roughly gestured towards Lennok and Cassia.

[You two teachers standing there too. Quickly.]

“…”

Since his phone was locked, there was no chance of information leaking, but message logs would be difficult to recover if the phone was damaged.

Lennok considered that much and obediently handed over his phone.

Cassia also saw Lennok’s reaction and was about to say something, then put down her phone.

If he had his way, he’d simply beat the giant to death and end this, but here, he had to be cautious.

As long as he didn’t know how many executives of the Ghost God Palace were inside the university, hasty actions would only lead to greater damage.

‘They can mimic the spirituality of others, he said. Did they use that ability to infiltrate the school?’

Lennok’s gaze fell on the two students who had been shot in the leg and fallen.

‘The shotgun’s power isn’t strong. They must have customized it beforehand to reduce its lethality.’

If hit by a shotgun at such close range, it should normally shatter limbs and turn the body into scattered flesh, let alone mere injuries.

Yet, though the two hit students were bleeding, it was a level that could be suppressed with proper hemostasis.

If they intentionally reduced the power of a shotgun, which usually dismembers a human body with one shot, there could only be one reason.

‘They want to keep the undergraduates alive as much as possible. Are they planning to use them as hostages?’

Bringing a short-barreled sawed-off shotgun meant the weapon was easy to conceal.

This was evidence that they had to consider outside eyes while infiltrating the university facilities.

The sorcerers of the Ghost God Palace probably weren’t so confident as to be completely relaxed or avoid conflict.

‘They have a goal they want to achieve within the university, and for that, they intend to temporarily take the students hostage. That’s why they completely cut off outside contact and killed the administrative staff first.’

That’s probably because undergraduates with magical talent are more valuable as hostages than administrative staff.

Lennok’s mind raced.

‘Only three faculties at most within the university have remaining mandatory lecture hours after final exams. Most professors and students from other faculties are already on vacation. It’s too perfect to be a coincidence… Someone inside must have leaked information.’

If they timed such an act so precisely to the few remaining faculty schedules at Rebatenon University, it was almost certainly because someone on the inside was colluding with them.

The Dean’s presence naturally flashed through his mind. But Lennok immediately dismissed that possibility.

The Dean had sensed something was wrong days ago and had tried to warn Lennok.

Considering the Dean’s spirit that had sought out Lennok, it was evidence that his intention hadn’t changed.

Rather, it was more plausible that the Dean himself had indirectly given Lennok a hint to avoid monitoring or confusion caused by information leakage.

‘Given the Dean’s demeanor at the time, it didn’t seem urgent. Has the situation progressed much more rapidly than expected?’

A being capable of openly committing an act of terror at Rebatenon University, taking students hostage, and yet keeping a Level 7 Sacred Tier Mage like the Dean restrained.

Could the current situation be easily explained if not for powerful figures within the city government?

‘The rumor about a mastermind behind the Ghost God Palace was true. Did the Central Council really orchestrate something like this…?’

He had heard that there were factions and divisions within the Council, but he never imagined a faction with such radical leanings would take action.

Especially not when the targets were undergraduates belonging to a direct educational institution of the city government.

[Let’s see… I had a note written by a monkey here somewhere…]

The giant in the leopard mask wiggled his hand inside the maw of the mask, as if rummaging through a bag.

Blood trickled down his hand and forearm as they scraped against the beast’s teeth, but the giant paid no mind, pulling a scrap of paper from his throat.

[Ah, found it. That’s right. This was the name.]

The leopard, holding the shotgun, casually aimed it at the undergraduates and asked.

[Evan Vylun. You’re in this lecture hall, aren’t you? Step forward.]